Stop #1: The Piave Crossing
Unlike their previous success at Caporetto, the Austro-Hungarians opted to go for an all-out frontal attack at various points of the front line, most of which followed the river Piave. One of these locations was the bank at the north-east point of the Montello hill, where small landmasses in the river could provide cover from enemy fire and make for a saver crossing. However, the Italians did bolster their defenses along the river in anticipation of an attack. Likely having realized this would be a good point for the Austro-Hungarians to cross, various bunkers were constructed here.
Bunkers location on Google Maps
You'll likely notice that Piave doesn't look all that impressive. While the size of the river does depend on the season and the amount of rain, Piave isn't the river it was during the war. In fact, a bit south east of this location is a small airstrip housing many historic (and some goofy) aircraft, built where the Piave used to flow.
The bunkers still exist to this day as a small open air museum called Bunker del Sentiero Brigata Lucca, with a 2.5km path to connect all of them. We've also been here as part of our research for the game! [spoiler]Game development sure is hard work.[/spoiler]
We can recommend it if you're looking to visit the area. It's a nice walk if the weather allows it, but it can get very slippery when wet and it's not very accessible.
In-game
The crossing of the river is the starting position of the Austro-Hungarians in-game. In order to get to the first objective on Montello, they'll need to push past these bunkers. Thank to Montello, there's quite a large elevation difference however, making it difficult to climb up to the bunkers and slowing the attackers down massively.
The Austro-Hungarian starting position with references we used to recreate it
The bunkers and the climb to get to them from the riverbank.
Up next
We leave the bunkers and properly start the tour by heading south, following the route of the Austro-Hungarian assault. Our next stop is the Monumento Ragazzi del '99 Santa Croce del Montello. See you there next week!
The route on Google Maps
Visit Montello!
The Montello Cycling Tour is a collaboration with local organizations. We'd like to thank them for helping us out with information about the region, the history and photos they provided. If you're interested in visiting the area, please check them out and tell them we sent you!
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For bike renting and a historic tour with possibility for a meal.
Bike Rental Montellohttps://aglizattieri.com/ |
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Looking for your next holiday destination?
Visit Prosecco Hillshttps://visitproseccohills.it/en |
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Want to learn more about WW1 and the history of the area?
Museo della Battaglia di Vittorio VenetoLocation on Google Maps |
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